Chloe's Past
by Ace-Of-Spades-2014
Summary: Chloe retells some of her high school experiences with Oliver.
1. Chapter 1

Oliver smiled at his girlfriend - offical as of a few seconds ago - and pulled her closer into his side so he could kiss the top of her head. As she began to descend the stairs, he had to let her go so that he could responsibly turn off the power. Out of curiosity, he looked to the table that Chloe had been poured over, paused, and then grabbed the yearbooks. He may not have known Chloe 1.0, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to hear about that version of the woman he loved straight from her own beautiful lips.

Grinning cheekily, he showed the books to Chloe when they closed the door to the loft. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he placed the memories between them on the couch. In return, Chloe rolled her eyes. "What exactly are you wanting here/"

Hardly ashamed of his sappy nature in the privacy of his own home, Oliver smiled, "To know all of you."

The mocking stare she gave him was belittled by the dancing of her green eyes. "And am I to expect an equal exchange of information concerning you?"

With a roll of his eyes, he agreed to her terms. Silently, he argued that Chloe already knew him better than anybody. To her, he was an open book, no need for this 'equal exchange of information. For her, however, he'd continue the game she played.

The sigh she exuded was dramatic and fake when she replied, "What do you want to know?"

"I guess it would be too much to ask to hear your story from the beginning?"

"Ah, so you want to hear about the first day I met Clark and kissed him because as I told him, I didn't want there to be any tension between us." She had a mischievous, crooked grin in place, seeing if he would raise to the bait. When his only response was an equally challenging smile, Chloe gave another dramatic sight. This time, however, she was a little more serious in her retelling of her high school misadventures, though for some reason she seemed to think it necessary to stay on the topic of boys.

He listened to Chloe describe the jock that had charmed her enough to get her number. Internally, he grimaced at the thought that a young, bright-eyed Chloe had been so insecure about herself to not only give a guy like that her number, but then to still agree to go on a date with him even after he had ditched her for some other girl. What really got to him was the meat of her story - how the date had ended. He had to force himself not to clench his fists in anger at hearing how the jock turned out to be a metahuman intent on stealing the warmth of another's body, freezing them to death so that he could have a brief moment of relief from the cold.

Though she retold the events with a small smile and an easy manner, lighting up especially at the part where she was miraculously saved (having been unaware of Clark's superman abilities at that time), Oliver could only imagine the fear that young girl had to have lived through at having to run for her life from something that she didn't truly understand. How traumatizing had that evening been for her? - not only for being a near death experience but also traumatizing to her self-esteem when it came to dating.

Not able to sense the extent of his frustration at the tale, but seeming to at least gather his last train of thought, Chloe scoffed impetuously. "Trust me, that's hardly the worst date / boyfriend I've ever had."

With a grimace, Oliver did his best to keep a light tone. "A part of me doesn't want to know what could be considered a worse date, while another part of me is too curious to let that information slide." This was, after all, information that made up one of the most amazing human beings he had the pleasure of coming across in his life.

"Well there was that one guy that could multiple himself and decided that one of the many advantages of that power was that he could date multiple women at once: Lana and me. Then when we confronted him about it, threw us off a bridge."

Oliver didn't have to fathom a guess as to how the two had survived.

"Then there was the one time I became enamoured by an old friend that had just gotten back from surgery and physical therapy, telekinesis abilities in tow. When I discovered that he had gone on a revenge mission to kill everyone he felt was responsible for his accident, he telekinetically threw a 2x4 at my head."

Vaguely, Oliver remembered a time when Chloe had teasingly remarked that her and Oliver's relationship was actually one of the healthiest she'd been in. At the time, he hadn't taken her seriously - thinking she had been leaning towards the dramatics. KNowing now that she hadn't been exaggerating, he wasn't sure if he could appreciate that sentiment.

Gently, he reached out to caress her blonde hair away from her face. Though there was no sign of bitterness or resentment in her expression, he felt the need to comfort her. Lovingly, he whispered, "You deserved so much more." More than an adolescence of dealing with homicidal psychopaths as potential romantic interests, and trials that weren't even hers to partake in. More than the blow by blow to her self-esteem. He leaned in for a quick kiss. "And I will do my absolute best to make sure that from here on in you get all that you deserve."

Chloe rolled her eyes fondly. "Such a sap."


	2. Chapter 2

Groggy, Oliver was pulled out of his sleep by the fitful movement at his side. He turned to face the pretty blonde that shared his bed - and now his life - and she tossed and turned in a feverish state. Nightmares were common for both of them, having gone through enough in their lifetime to car them to the bone, and they had both learned to not wake the other during these times. It was best to wait until the other woke up naturally and then soothe them afterwards.

It didn't take long for Chloe to startle herself awake, jerking into an upright position, her eyes wide and glossy. Carefully, Oliver reached out to smooth back her sweaty hair. "It's okay Chloe. I'm here. It's okay. It's going to be okay." With deep breaths in and out, Chloe gradually calmed down. "Want to talk about it?" he asked softly.

For a moment he thought she might not answer. Sometimes the nightmares were too fresh to speak out loud. Once she had gathered her nerves, however, she said, "I, uh, I dreamed I was being buried alive."

The fingers that were combing through her hair paused. Unsurely, he questioned with a gentle tone, "Was this just a nightmare, or was it a memory?" A part of him didn't want to hear the truth, too afraid of the reality being spoken into existence.

"In high school." Her voice wavered, and her eyes shined with unshed tears. Oliver moved closer to her, guiding her into his comforting embrace. "There was a detective who...who…" she shook her head as if to rid herself of the memory, to shake the dirt off her skin, to shake the fresh air back into her lungs. "It's ridiculous," she was crying now, still shaking her head. "After all the things I've witnessed since - so much worse things - I still have trouble sleeping because of something so simple."

He held her tighter to his body. "There is nothing simple about being buried alive Chloe." Though he kept his voice soft, his words themselves were stern.

Chloe was listening. "I wasn't even in danger. Not really." The tears were flowing freely now and it broke Oliver's heart. "The guy, he would have found me before there was too much damage."

Anger rushed through Oliver. "He did that to you so he could be seen as a hero." It didn't matter that Oliver didn't have a way to identify the man, he was imagining the torture that he would inflict upon him. How dare this man traumatize his beautifully strong Chloe - a man who was supposed to protect the innocent - all so that he could 'play' at being hero.

"And Clark saved me. Like always. With Lana's help." She gave another shaky breath. "So no reason to be…" her body tensed and her lips trembled, "to be like this."

With a sigh, Oliver wiggled himself further onto the bed so he could rearrange Chloe so that she rested comfortably on his chest, resting his onto her hair. He hugged her securely to him unwillingly to let her go. "However it ended, it doesn't change or belittle the fear that you went through."

It didn't lessen the panic that had gripped her when she awoke to a suffocating darkness, breathing in nothing but stale air and dirt.

Chloe cried harder, letting herself go. All Oliver could do was hold onto her, running his hand up and down in a soothing rhythm, allowing her the time and grace to overcome the trauma that she had never taken the time to acknowledge, and therefore take the time to fully heal from.


End file.
